Young Child Risk Calculator

The risk factors used in this tool are known to increase the chance of poor health, school, and developmental outcomes for young children. Economic hardship paired with any of the listed risk factors may indicate a greater chance of poor outcomes. Children with three or more risks are exceptionally vulnerable. Information about the prevalence of young children experiencing these risks can inform policies aimed at improving outcomes for vulnerable children and reducing the number of children experiencing early risks.

Choose risk factors

Use the form on the left to see the following information for your state:

The percentage and number of young children in a state, within a specified
age range, who are experiencing selected risk factors

The percentage and number of young children in a state, within a specified
age range, who are experiencing both selected risk factors (such
as teen parent, residential mobility) and economic hardship at a
specified level (extreme poverty, poverty, low-income)

NOTE: Users may sometimes see a single asterisk for a group displayed on the chart indicating a percentage may be "unreliable" This occurs when a state has a relatively small number of children in a particular group, such as children age 3 to 5 with a teen parent. Highly unreliable results, due to very small numbers of children in particular groups, will be indicated by two asterisks next to the group label. States with lower populations will have more unreliable results.

Multiple risks:

In addition, a third chart will show young children (in the specified age band)
who are experiencing multiple risks (any combination of the seven
risk factors and low income).

Federal Poverty Threshold:

For specific dollar amounts associated with each poverty threshold for different family sizes, please see the US Census website.

Technical Assistance

Please contact us at ito@nccp.org if you are interested in having NCCP provide:

Background information on policies for presentations to a policy audience

Assistance in selecting/presenting information for policy and advocacy reports and materials (e.g., compare your state’s eligibility levels for child care to other states and national trends)

Research on risk factors and implications for designing policies and targeting programs